| ARTIST BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | Joseph (Joe) Ferenc Acs was born in Díósgyor, Hungary, and he made his home in Edmonton, Alberta for more than thirty years. Acs describes himself as a professional artist-painter, sculpture and designer of murals who was mainly self-taught, although he has training in art and music from schools in Hungary and has studied commercial art through the International Correspondence School in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He holds a diploma in civil engineering (1965) from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT).
Acs often paints landscapes and is well known for images of prairie elevators and other rural settings, but his work also includes pieces that deal with political movements, such as the 1956 Hungarian Revolution or the 1885 North West Rebellion. Acs’ work can be seen in offices and public spaces around Edmonton, and a bust commissioned by the Hungarian Cultural Society, of composer and pianist Franz Liszt, is featured in the main foyer of the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. His work began showing in Alberta in 1969 and is held by the Canadian Embassy in Denmark, by governments, by former Prime Minister Joe Clark, and in dozens of other private and public collections in Canada and internationally.
Compiled 2014 |